About

1948 – Kenneth Laurent, a disabled World War II veteran and his wife Phyllis commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design a home for them.

1949 – Wright designed the Laurent House, the only building that he created specifically for a client with a physical disability. Its design was decades ahead of the American Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility guidelines.

1951 to 1952 – Using intersecting arcs, the 1,400 sf, Usonian-hemicycle home was constructed on a rural site in Rockford, Illinois. Wright apprentice John deKoven Hill was the field representative during construction.

Original color scheme was orange, green, and Cherokee-red. All furniture, except two chairs and the piano and its bench, were designed by Wright or his apprentices.

1950s – Wright referred to the Laurent House as his "little gem" and selected it for his book that showcased his 35 most significant buildings of his 70+ year career.

1950s – The Laurents adopt a son and a daughter, prompting an addition to the house.

1958 – Wright was commissioned and prepared working sketches for a large addition.

1959 – Wright died prior to the completion of the addition’s final plans and construction drawings.

1959 to 1960 – Under the direction of John (Jack) Howe, a close apprentice of Wright's, the addition’s revisions and construction were completed, using the son of the original local contractor to construct the addition.

1952 – 2012 – Ken and Phyllis Laurent lived in the house for 60 years, taking excellent care of their "little gem."

2012 – The Laurent House Foundation, Inc., an independent, not-for-profit, private foundation created by local residents, purchased the home, the Wright-designed architectural drawings and furnishings, and the Laurent’s personal effects.

2012 – Laurent House was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

2012 to 2015 - The Foundation undertook extensive restoration work of the house due to roof damage.

Since opening to the public in June 2014, thousands of visitors from 5 Continents, over 40 States, and over 200 Illinois communities have toured.

Ken Laurent & Frank Lloyd Wright

All of the letters between Ken Laurent and Frank Lloyd Wright remain.

During the original project and after, Wright would stop by, when passing from Chicago to Spring Green, Wisconsin.

The Laurents visited Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin on many occasions, including annually for Wright’s birthday party.

History

In 1937, after graduating from Belvidere High School, Ken moved to Rockford, to work, as a statistician, at National Lock Co. where he worked for 41 years.

Ken and Phyllis married at Trinity Lutheran Church in Rockford in June 1941.

From 1942 to 1946, Ken served in the Quartermaster Corp. in the Navy and was stationed in San Diego, California, where Phyllis was able to join him. In March of 1946, Ken and Phyllis returned to Rockford.

Summer 1946, Ken was diagnosed with a spinal cord tumor and underwent surgery that left him a paraplegic for the remainder of his life.

Over the next few years Ken lived in the Vaughan (Hines) Veteran’s Administration facility near Chicago, where he received rehab and training. Phyllis moved in with her parents in Rockford.

1948: Two events occurred that brought the Laurents and Frank Lloyd Wright together:The Laurents received a $10,000 Federal Specially Adapted Housing grant for disabled veterans and Phyllis saw an article in House Beautiful magazine about the Wright-designed, Loren Pope house in Virginia and thought that Wright’s open plan style would suit the needs of her husband.

In 1948, Ken wrote a letter asking Wright to design a house for a wheelchair-bound person on a $20,000 budget. Within two weeks, Wright wrote back, accepting the commission.